Philippines to repatriate workers from Ebola-hit West Africa

A picture taken on Aug 21, 2014, shows French NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) staff members wearing protective gear at the MSF ELWA hospital in Monrovia, where Ebola patients are taken care of. The Philippines is pulling out almost 3,500 workers from three West African states due to the Ebola outbreak, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, Aug 24, a day after Filipino troops in Liberia were ordered to go home. -- PHOTO: AFP

MANILA (REUTERS) - The Philippines is pulling out almost 3,500 workers from three West African states due to the Ebola outbreak, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, a day after Filipino troops in Liberia were ordered to go home.

"We are preparing for the implementation of mandatory repatriation of Filipinos in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in view of the threat posed by Ebola," Mr Charles Jose, a foreign ministry spokesman, said in a text message to reporters.

There are 1,979 workers in Sierra Leone, 880 in Guinea and 632 in Liberia, including 148 soldiers deployed with a UN peacekeeping force, the ministry said.

On Saturday, the defence ministry announced it was recalling all soldiers deployed in Liberia.